The Las Vegas Sands Corporation has unexpectedly pulled out of the competition for a combined resort license in Japan. The company stated that the current rules and regulations make the project impractical.
The head of Sands, Sheldon Adelson, has always been excited about Japan’s potential as a tourist destination and had hoped to build properties there.
“Japan’s attractiveness remains strong, and we believe it would benefit from attracting both business and leisure travelers through combined resorts. However, the structure surrounding combined resort development has made it impossible for us to achieve our goals there,” he stated.
“We are thankful for the opportunity to have met all our associates in Japan and for the strong connections we have established, but now is the time for the company to concentrate on other opportunities.”
Adelson stated that he is “very hopeful” about Sands and its expansion projects, and that investments in Macau and Singapore will produce significant new growth from its current assets.
We are certain that our prosperous integrated resort model, which we have spearheaded in Las Vegas, Macau, and Singapore, will be embraced by other Asian nations. This is particularly true as governments strive to enhance leisure and business travel to propel economic expansion, he stated.
The Japanese government has established a final date of July for local authorities to present bids for one of three integrated resort (IR) locations. They have underscored that this deadline will not be altered despite the disturbances caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sands is widely anticipated to submit a bid for a permit to construct a facility in Yokohama. Other possible competitors include Okinawa, Osaka, Wakayama, Sasebo, and Tokyo. However, Hokkaido withdrew from the bidding process in November 2019 due to environmental concerns.